Department for Transport

Motorcycles: Exhaust Emissions

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government what restrictions exist, if any, on the volume levels of motorcycle exhausts when travelling (1) on dual carriageways, and (2) on roads with a lower speed restriction.

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government what motorcycleexhaust volume levels are permitted under current legislation; and whether the legislation only relates to tests undertaken as part of type conformity permissions.

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government how any post-manufacturealteration to a motor cycle exhaust system is monitored to ensure that any changes conform with legislation.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: New motorcycles are required to meet strict noise limits in a range of driving conditions before being placed on the market. The current limit within the approval test is between 73 and 77 decibels (dBA) depending on the power to weight ratio of the machine and is not specific to types of roads. Once on the road, regulations require that exhausts and silencers shall not be altered to increase noise above the level the motorcycle was originally approved to. The police also have powers to take action if they believe excessive vehicle noise could have been avoided through reasonable driver care. The annual vehicle MOT test requires an inspection of the state of repair of the exhaust and the tester uses their experience to make a subjective assessment of the noise levels. A vehicle should fail the MOT if the silencer has been altered to increase noise above the level expected from a standard system.

Electric Scooters: Accidents and Injuries

Lord Shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what data they (1) hold, and (2) are collecting, on the number of (a) accidents, and (b) injuries, resulting from the use of e-scooters in (i) designated trial zones, and (ii) other areas.

Lord Shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what data they (1) hold, and (2) are collecting, on the number of pedestrian injuries as a result of e-scooter use in (a) designated trial zones, and (b) other areas.

Lord Shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what data they (1) hold, and (2) are collecting, on the number of e-scooters that have been (a) sold, and (b) rented, in the UK in (i) designated pilot areas, and (ii) other areas.

Lord Shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what data they (1) hold, and (2) are collecting, on the number of e-scooters that are in use in (a) designated pilot areas, and (b) other areas.

Lord Shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions have been had with (1) Local Authorities, (2) disability charities, and (3) Disabled People’s Organisations, to ensure(a)theeffective monitoring of e-scooter pilots, (b) the enforcement of the law regarding e-scooter pilots, and (c) the effective protection of disabled and visually impaired pedestrians.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme for the e-scooter trials. We will be publishing reports in Autumn 2021 and Spring 2022, with a summary of the evidence collected and reviewed so far by our evaluation contractor, Arup.This will include high level information on the number of trips; average distance and duration; scooter availability; and demographic information about users, from across the trials. The evaluation is collecting data on accidents and injuries through surveys with e-scooter users and residents living within trial areas, along with an estimation of e-scooter casualties using free text in the STATS19 database. STATS19 is a collection of all road traffic accidents that resulted in a personal injury and were reported to the police within 30 days of the accident. Outside the trial areas e-scooters are not currently one of the designated vehicle types collected in STATS19, and as such they would be classed as ‘other’ and can only be identified using a free text field in the STATS19 database. Data for 2020 are currently being collated and validated. Subject to the data recorded in the free text field being of sufficient quality, the Department intends to publish data on e-scooters and other vehicle types, which can be reliably identified from the free text field alongside the publication of the annual publication of the Reported Road Casualties Great Britain in September 2021. The Department is not collecting data on the number of e-scooters sold. It is not illegal to sell an e-scooter, however under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 there is a general obligation for traders to give consumers sufficient information about goods and services at the point of sale, so consumers are not misled. The regulations ban commercial practices through which omissions and actions cause, or are likely to cause, the average consumer to make a decision they would otherwise not make, for example, to purchase goods or a service that they would otherwise not have purchased. The CPRs carry criminal penalties and are enforced by local authority trading standards officers. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) leads on ensuring responsible business practices. However, in December 2018 Ministers from this Department wrote to micromobility retailers to remind them of the law regarding the sale of e-scooters and we are planning to do so again shortly. It is in everyone’s interest that consumers can make properly informed decisions when buying these products.  The vehicle special orders (VSOs) issued to allow the trials to take place, contain the maximum number of e-scooters that are allowed in a trial area. This number is set by the local authority and the e-scooter operator, taking into account local circumstances, and is authorised by the Department. We collect monthly sit-rep reports from the local authorities in the trial areas and these include the size of the current fleet. We do not hold, nor are we collecting, any data on the number of e-scooters in use outside trial areas. Since July 2020 we have held four e-scooter roundtable meetings with groups representing the interests of disabled people, including those with sight loss. The most recent roundtable was held on 7 June 2021, where three local areas involved in the trials, gave presentations on what they are doing to address the concerns of disabled people in trial areas. We have instructed all local authorities participating in trials to engage throughout the trial period with these groups in their local areas to ensure their concerns are being heard and, where possible, mitigated. Following our consultation last year, and feedback from subsequent stakeholder activities, we have required all e-scooters used in trials to have a horn or bell so that users can make others aware of their presence. The Department’s guidance for trial areas is also clear that there needs to be sufficient parking provision in trial areas; where a dockless operating model is being used, local authorities should ensure that e-scooters do not become obstructive to other road users and pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities. The Department has in place a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme and we have also made additional commitments such as allowing vulnerable road user groups to take part in the evaluation process. There are offences and penalties for using an e-scooter illegally. Users can be fined up to £300, have 6 points put on their driving licence, and the e-scooter can be impounded. We are speaking with the police about enforcement during trials, and local authorities are speaking to police forces in their areas.

Railways

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the legislation required to implement the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail will repeal the (1) Railways Act 1993, (2) Railways Act 2005, and (3) Railways (Access, Management and Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2016.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: There is much we can do to progress implementation of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail without needing or amending legislation, such as the introduction of flexible season tickets and the development of a Whole Industry Strategic Plan.To be successful, we know that Rail Transformation Programme will need to be co-designed and co-delivered with the bodies that make up the rail sector. We will engage with the industry to design and implement this major project.We will undertake detailed engagement and consultations on implementing the proposals in the Williams-Shapps plan and where legislative changes are required, we will introduce these when the Parliamentary timetable allows.

Great British Railways: Staff

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff from (1) the Department for Transport, (2) Network Rail, (3) the Rail Delivery Group, and (4) the Office of Rail and Road, are expected to transfer to Great British Railways.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The government will work closely with industry to develop detailed plans for implementation.We recognise the significant amount of work which happens across the industry to facilitate the running of the railways and the expertise required to achieve this. Retaining that expertise will be crucial to ensuring the futures success of the railways.This is the biggest change to the railways in three decades and transformation on this scale will not happen overnight. Government is setting up a Rail Transformation Programme within the Department for Transport and working with the rail sector to ensure a common understanding of our vision for the railway, working collectively with the sector to design how this major project will be delivered. The Government will make an announcement on next steps in relation to implementation in due course.

Great British Railways

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government in which city the headquarters of Great British Railways will be located.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: We are still in the early stages of the Rail Transformation Programme and will consider options for the location of Great British Railways’ headquarters in due course.

Railways

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the Department of Transport Great British Railways: The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, published on 20 May, in respect of the UK’s railways over the past decade, how much have wages increased; how much inflation has occurred; and what was the increase in (1) passenger numbers, (2) passenger kilometres, and (3) freight kilometres.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: UK rail wage figures are available by sector. The table below provides the median wage increase for the period 2010 to 2020:Rail Construction and Maintenance OperativesRail Transport OperativesRail Travel AssistantsTrain and Tram Drivers13%51%39%35% During this period, prices increased (as measured by retail price index) by 31.1%.ORR publish statistics on passenger journeys and kilometres. In the decade 2009/10 to 2019/20 (prior to the coronavirus pandemic) passenger journeys increased by 29% and passenger kilometres increased by 23%. In the last year (since government measures were introduced to minimise coronavirus impact) passenger journeys and kilometres have decreased by 78% and 81% respectively compared to the previous year.Freight kilometres for the period 2010/11 to 2020/21 decreased by 23%. Please see attached documents for supporting tables.Table 1 Inflation and wages (docx, 14.7KB)Table 2 Passenger services and KM (docx, 14.0KB)Table 3 Passenger services and km 2010-21 (docx, 13.7KB)

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Electricity Interconnectors: Portsmouth

Lord Grantchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether theAquind Interconnector proposal will be considered by the national security regime which was established by the National Security and Investment Act 2021, including by (1) the Investment Security Unit, and (2) the Secretary of State, on national security grounds.

Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist: The Government has a range of legislative and regulatory powers to protect infrastructure and critical services, including the National Security and Investment Act 2021. The Government is aware of the Aquind Interconnector proposal. The Government does not comment on individual transactions and any risk to national security.

Nuclear Power Stations: China

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the similarities in design between the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong, China, and the plant being built at Hinkley Point C; and whether any changes to the Hinkley Point C design are being planned as a result of the recent problems at Taishan.

Lord Callanan: The site at Hinkley Point C will operate two European Pressurised Water Reactors (EPR), the same reactor design as the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant.Any reactor deployed in the UK must meet the UK’s robust and independent regulatory requirement with the developer of Hinkley Point C applying relevant lessons learnt from other EPR projects during the construction of Hinkley Point C. The developer is working with the Office for Nuclear Regulation to ensure construction of the plant is delivered on time and to the required quality standards.

Nuclear Power Stations: China

Lord Stunell: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to instruct the Office of Nuclear Regulation to investigate the recent problems at the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong, China, in order to inform the commissioning of any similar plants in the United Kingdom.

Lord Callanan: Nuclear power stations in Great Britain must comply with our stringent nuclear safety laws, overseen by a robust and independent regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR). The ONR would not allow a reactor to be built or to operate if it judged that it was not safe to do so. The ONR are already engaged with relevant contacts, including its international regulatory partners, to fully understand the issues at Taishan, and any associated learning will form part of their ongoing scrutiny of the Hinkley Point C (HPC) project.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Mothers

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Government Legal Department, in any of its official (1) paperwork, (2) guidance, (3) instructions, (4) manuals, or (5) other documents, (a) has replaced, or (b) intends to replace, the word “mother” with the phrase “parent who has given birth”.

Lord Stewart of Dirleton: GLD has not replaced, nor does it intend to replace, the word “mother” with the phrase “parent who has given birth” in any of its official (1) paperwork, (2) guidance, (3) instructions, (4) manuals, or (5) other documents.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Lord Mann: To ask Her Majesty's Government which documents set out the triage policy in relation to a pandemic for (1) hospitals, and (2) care homes, as of January 2020.

Lord Bethell: Re-configuring service delivery to ensure sufficient National Health Service capacity was central to our preparedness for a pandemic and the COVID-19 response. However, the Department does not have - and did not have in January 2020 - a pandemic triage policy for hospitals and care homes, as this is a clinical matter. In the event that patient triage becomes necessary, clinical guidance would be produced to support decision-making.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Private Rented Housing

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) rent prices, and (2) availability of housing, in the private rented sector in England and Wales.

Lord Greenhalgh: Data on rental costs is gathered for the English Housing Survey. The most recent headline report, for 2019-2020, has mean and median rent figures for the last ten years, for London, the rest of England, and all of England, by tenure (private versus social rents). Data is available at Annex Table 1.11, (attached) here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2019-to-2020-headline-reportThe Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government only collects this data for England, as housing is devolved in Wales. We do not publish data on the availability of housing in the private rented sector. English housing survey (pdf, 891.4KB)

Landlord and Tenant: Private Rented Housing

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to establish a landlord–tenantconciliation service to deal with private rental issues; and if so, when.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government has been piloting a new mediation service since February 2021 as part of the possession process to support landlords and tenants to resolve disputes before a formal hearing takes place. The Government is funding the Society of Mediators to provide this new service and it is free to use for all tenants and landlords that agree to do so.The pilot will help to sustain tenancies wherever possible and support continued engagement between landlords and tenants. It also provides the opportunity to assess the broader use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the courts. We continue to encourage landlords and tenants to work together to resolve issues in all our guidance and in many cases this is happening.Beyond this, the Government remains committed to proposals that will require private landlords to belong to a redress scheme. This will ensure that all tenants have access to redress where they have a legitimate complaint about their home, and will also make it easier for private landlords to understand their obligations. We re-stated this commitment at the Queen's Speech in May.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release: Females

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent vulnerable women from returning to prison after they have been released from custody.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The Government is committed to ensuring vulnerable women are supported on their release from prison to rebuild their lives and stay out of prison. There is a range of activity underway to deliver this commitment.We are investing more than £20m in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary accommodation. Individuals released from prison will be provided up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation and will be supported to secure long-term settled accommodation before the end of that 12-week period. Initially launching in five probation regions, the service will support around 3,000 offenders in its first year and will be commencing this Summer. It will be in operation during the financial year 2021-22, with a view to scaling up and rolling out nationally.The service will take account of the needs of women, including those with complex needs and accommodation provision will be dedicated to single gender usage as required. Community Probation Practitioners, working together with local partners, will be responsible for ensuring that vulnerable female prison leavers receive appropriate support and are provided with housing beyond the 12 weeks emergency accommodation.Under the new probation arrangements, women’s contracts worth £46 million have been let under the dynamic framework, and awarded to organisations providing wraparound support to address the complex needs of women in or at risk of contacting the criminal justice system. Commissioned Rehabilitation Services started delivery on 26th June 2021 and will include services to assist with accommodation, employment training and education, financial benefit and debt and personal well-being.These will provide a holistic service for all women leaving prison from providers based in the community they are released to. The accommodation service and mentoring service both start pre- release. The mentoring service aims to support those who lack social support make the transition from prison to community and assist in building social networksThe Government recognises the vital role played by women’s community sector organisations in supporting women released from prison and preventing them from returning. On 11th June 2021, the Government launched a £2.5 million grant funding opportunity to provide further support to these organisations, on top of £7 million already invested since the Female Offender Strategy was published in 2018. Like a similar competition held last year, the present funding is available to pay core costs and is designed to promote greater financial stability throughout the sector.

Prisoners' Release: Temporary Accommodation

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan toroll out the Ministry of Justice’s temporary accommodation service for prison leavers to all probation regions in England and Wales.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: We are investing more than £20m in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary accommodation. Individuals released from prison will be provided up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation and will be supported into long-term settled accommodation before the end of that 12-week period. Initially launching in five national probation regions, the service will support around 3,000 offenders in its first year and will be commencing later this Summer. This service will be in operation during this financial year 2021-22, with a view to scaling up and rolling out nationally, though the Spending Review 2021 will set out the approach for future years. HMPPS will also work in conjunction with MHCLG’s announced funding to support prison leavers at risk of homelessness into private rental tenancies. Working in collaboration with these initiatives Commissioned Rehabilitation Services are also due to start delivery on 26th June 2021. This will provide further services to assist in accommodation as well as those for employment training and education, financial benefit and debt and personal well-being.

Prisoners' Release

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners with an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence and given a Category B status have been released.

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Category B prisoners with an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence are currently serving a sentence on recall.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The information needed to provide a comprehensive answer to the question asking how many prisoners with an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence and given a Category B status have been released could be provided only at disproportionate cost as central data were not stored in a way that it can be filtered by the required fields to obtain the information prior to 2015. Between 2015 and 2020, there were 86 releases of Category B IPP prisoners. This figure does not include re-releases following recall. As of 31 March 2021, there were 91 Category B prisoners with an IPP sentence that were serving a sentence on recall. A prisoner’s individual offending behaviour, resettlement needs and individual circumstances (such as medical requirements) may result in an individual being held in a prison of a higher category than their own category. Prisoners will not be allocated to a prison of a lower security category than the security category assigned to them personally. Note for figures:These figures have been drawn from the Public Protection Unit Database and Prison-NOMIS held by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. As with any large scale recording systems, the figures are subject to possible errors with data migration and processing.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Iran: Journalism

Lord Grade of Yarmouth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the treatment of BBC World Service journalists working for the Persian language service by the authorities in Iran; and what representations they have made to the government of Iran about the harassment of journalists in that country.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We condemn the persecution of current and former BBC Persian employees and their family members, and the many individuals who have had their assets frozen or are banned from leaving Iran. We regularly raise this issue of harassment directly with the Iranian government, as well as in multilateral fora. At the UN Third Committee in October 2020 we urged Iran to cease their harassment of journalists and media organisations, and at the Human Rights Council in March 2021 we made it clear to Iran that their repeated violations of human rights are unacceptable. We reiterated our concerns on 24 June 2021 at the BBC Persian event, attended by multiple supporters of media freedom, which took place alongside the Human Rights Council. These actions by the Iranian authorities contravene multiple international human rights obligations, and we will continue to call them out for as long as they commit them.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Mothers

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, in any of its official (1) paperwork, (2) guidance, (3) instructions, (4) manuals, or (5) other documents, (a) has replaced, or (b) intends to replace, the word “mother” with the phrase “parent who has given birth”.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As laid out in Hansard, 8 March 2007, Col. 146ws, in 2007, the then Government resolved to shift to gender-neutral drafting of legislation to avoid stereotypes that only men could hold positions of authority.Notwithstanding, Ministers believe it is entirely appropriate to continue to refer to sex in legislation where helpful for clarity or pertinent (for example, legislation relating to the health needs of women).In that light, we have not, nor do we intend to, replace the word 'mother' with the phrase 'parent who has given birth' in Departmental paperwork, guidance, instructions, manuals or other documents.

Sri Lanka: Wrecks

Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the environmentalimpact caused by the fire on the X-Press Pearl on the coast of Sri Lanka; and what support they have provided to the government of Sri Lanka.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK government remains concerned about the environmental impact caused by the fire on the X-Press Pearl ship. While the risk of an oil spill is now considered low, plastic pellets and other debris are affecting the shoreline. We have engaged regularly with the Sri Lankan authorities and international experts on the ground to determine how the UK can best support the response.The UK government is providing marine pollution expertise to Sri Lanka to help respond to the potentially devastating impact on the marine life and coastal habitats of Sri Lanka. The UK will also provide expertise and analytical capacity to support plastic pollution monitoring, as well as environmental and socioeconomic impact assessments. The UK's Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science will partner with Sri Lankan Government Departments, academics and responsible authorities to support effective emergency response and implementation of a post spill integrated monitoring plan.

Tigray: War Crimes

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision of the Office of the Prosecutor in Belgium to use universal jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes and atrocities in Tigray; andwhat plans they have, if any, to considertaking similar action.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Any decision to investigate and prosecute crimes of universal jurisdiction is for the police and the appropriate prosecuting body.

Department for Work and Pensions

Capita: Northern Ireland

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Department for Communities on the operation of the contract for Capita Business Services Ltd to carry out Personal Independence Payment assessments in Northern Ireland on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their role in (1) awarding, and (2) monitoring, the contract for Capita Business Services Ltd to carry out Personal Independence Payment assessments in Northern Ireland on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments in Northern Ireland are administered by the Department for Communities, and not the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The PIP contract has been managed and monitored by Department for Communities since contract signature, which also includes management of all extension negotiations directly. DWP continually work with its assessment providers to further improve the PIP assessment process and are keen to share best practices. We regularly engage with Department for Communities to discuss best practice, align process and contract management approaches where possible.

Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the value of the contracts awarded to (1) Capita Business Services Ltd, and (2) Independent Assessment Services, to carry out Personal Independence Payment assessments, broken down by region.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The country is divided into 3 Lots, made up of North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, Scotland (Lot 1), East Midlands, West Midlands, Wales (Lot 2) and East of England, London, South East, South West (Lot 3). Lot 1 belongs to Independent Assessment Services and has a value of £746,000,000. Lot 2 belongs to Capita and has a value of £349,000,000. Lot 3 belongs to Independent Assessment Services and has a value of £606,600,000.

Kickstart Scheme

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many young people who have completed the Kick Start programme (1) are unemployed, and (2) have gone into employment, education or further training.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Department will be monitoring and evaluating the Kickstart Scheme throughout and after its implementation, and will continue to evaluate the longer term outcomes for Kickstart participants after they have completed their six-month job placements. We will publish the findings of the evaluation once complete.

Industrial Health and Safety: Regulation

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent meetings they have had, if any, to discuss the future of health and safety regulation.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Government is committed to taking a proportionate approach to health and safety regulation to support economic recovery and enable innovation while maintaining levels of protection for workers. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the Minister for Employment meet regularly with senior officials from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to discuss current priorities, for example the new post EU Chemicals regime, the Building Safety Regulator and Covid-19 responses, and discuss potential developments and future priorities. HSE’s Annual Business Plan 2020/21 details key priorities, taking account of the ongoing response to Covid-19 while helping to support the economy.

Home Office

Home Office: Mothers

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Office, in any of its official (1) paperwork, (2) guidance, (3) instructions, (4) manuals, or (5) other documents, (a) has replaced, or (b) intends to replace, the word “mother” with the phrase “parent who has given birth”.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: All internal Home Office HR policies relating to various forms of parental leave have been updated to ensure that inclusive language is used.In relation to the language used in wider Home Office operational and other paperwork, guidance, instructions and manuals, this question cannot be answered except at a disproportionate cost as the specific information requested is not held centrally.

Immigration: EU Nationals

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support those who have been unable to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme because of the pandemic.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support (1) individuals, and (2) communities, who face barriers to applying to the EU Settlement Scheme online.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office remains committed to ensuring those who are eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme can apply, including those who are vulnerable or need extra support. £22 million of funding has been awarded to a network of 72 charities and local authorities across the UK, to ensure important information and assistance gets through to those who are hardest to reach, and no one is left behind. These organisations have helped more than 310,000 vulnerable people to apply to the EUSS already.The Home Office has a dedicated team of more than 1,500 people working on the EUSS, with support available to applicants seven days a week by telephone and by email.To maximise the intake of applications by 30 June deadline, changes have been made to the postal route for paper applications. The new process enables completed paper applications to be emailed directly to the team handling applications.We appreciate the pandemic has had an impact on many people’s ability to travel. Hence on 10 June, the Home Office published revised guidance on permitted absences because of COVID-19 under the EU Settlement Scheme. The guidance provides further clarity and flexibility for EU citizens and their family members to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme and to otherwise maintain their continuous residence.The Home Office has delivered a comprehensive range of communications activity, at a cost of £8m, to increase awareness of the EUSS, engaging extensively with a wide range of stakeholder organisations and other government departments, to provide the materials they need to communicate about the Settlement Scheme.This includes toolkits, assets and information translated into 26 EEA languages, and Welsh, for local authorities, community groups, employers and the Grant Funded Network, who work closely with vulnerable, hard to reach audiences to provide application support.Information about how applicants can seek help and support with their application through the EU Settlement Resolution Centre, or via Assisted Digital for those who need digital support, is provided on GOV.UK.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Travellers: Discrimination

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which online advertisements promote discrimination against Traveller communities; what plans they have to ensure that digital media platforms do not carry adverts that include such discrimination; and what steps they intend to take against individuals or organisations that place adverts that discriminate against Traveller communities.

Baroness Barran: The regulation of online advertising in the UK is led by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA is responsible for the day-to-day enforcement of the UK Code for Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (the CAP Code). Within the CAP code, section 4.1, covers rules around discrimination, stating that “particular care must be taken to avoid offence on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age.” Marketers should be particularly aware of their depictions of these characteristics, and ensure that their ads do not contain anything which may be likely to cause serious or widespread offence on any grounds.” More information can be found here: https://www.asa.org.uk/advice-online/offence-use-of-stereotypes.htmlIn investigating a possible breach of advertising rules, the ASA will use the CAP code to determine the course of action. If the advertisement is deemed to be offensive or discriminatory, the advertiser will be asked to take down the ad.